California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom may be spending plenty of time looking like he’s running for president, but apparently there’s one person who gets first dibs on the Democratic nomination: Kamala Harris.
Newsom told [1] CNN’s Jake Tapper that he won’t run for president in 2028 if the former vice president decides she wants another shot at the White House. The interview took place in a Montana river at Newsom’s in-law’s ranch while the two buddies were fly- fishing together.
“I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom said, arguing that a Newsom-Harris primary battle would amount to “mutual assured destruction” and be a “gift” to Republicans while everyone watches them destroy each other.
“Why would I?” Newsom said to Tapper. “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me. … I won’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?”
Kamala Gets the Right of First Refusal
Neither Democrat has officially announced a 2028 campaign, although both are widely viewed as potential contenders. Harris has yet to decide whether she’ll run again, while Newsom has been busy raising his national profile.
So for now, Newsom will keep doing all the things a guy running for president does while insisting he might not actually run for president.
Nothing says “I’m definitely not running” quite like spending years building a national profile while waiting to see if Harris wants another shot – after Democratic primary voters rejected her in 2020 and voters nationwide rejected the Democratic ticket she led in 2024.